Debt ownership by equity-holding managers aligns their incentives more closely with those of creditors, thereby reducing agency costs of debt. We test this hypothesis by examining how terms of bank loans are related to executive pension and deferred compensation, i.e., inside debt held by...

We analyze the relation between comprehensive measures of board quality and the cost as well as the non-price terms of bank loans. We show that firms with higher quality boards and even a single (non-insider) advisory board member borrow at lower interest rates. This relation exists even after...

Traditionally, the cost of debt is seen as solely dependent on firm or debt characteristics. However, a firm's cost of debt might also be impacted by the informational environment, thereby offering a link between security transparency, asset pricing, and corporate finance. This paper measures...

Financial contracts are strongly influenced by the perception that transacting parties have of each other. Hence, if contracting counterparties such as banks perceive that there is a difference in the likelihood that CEOs with conservative and liberal political orientation will discharge their...